I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to include Walk This Way. It’s one of the classics.
It is one of the trickier ones to play in this batch. You have to give the E string a fair old pluck to keep it ringing through the hammer-ons.
For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, the Rag Bag is the page where I stuck all the half finished stuff and bits and bobs that aren’t ready (or, more likely, never will be ready) for the blog. Most of these are requests. Recent editions are:
Devendra Banhart – The Ribbon (Intro) Simplified for the uke but in the same key. MIDI
Bob Marley – Waiting in Vain (Intro) (from Chris Ramos Wong’s version)
Scott Joplin – Bethena (First Theme) (MIDI)
Neal Paisley – Throw Me in the River (Tab) – Very early draft of first few bars. Note the altered tuning: fcfa.
Three Amigos/Randy Newman – Blue Shadows (Intro) in this uke-friendly key.
George Strait – River of Love (Intro) Chords: D and G.
James Blunt – River of Love (Intro)
Beatles – I’ve Just Seen A Face (Intro)
Sublime – Santaria (Intro) MIDI. Loosely based on this version.
Libertines – Don’t Look Back Into the Sun (Intro) MIDI
Black Crowes – She Talks to Angels (Intro)(PDF) MP3
David Bowie – Ziggy Stardust (Intro) (PDF) MIDI
The Cure – Just Like Heaven (Riff)(PDF) MIDI
Jacques Brel – Madeleine Intro (PDF) MIDI The chords are on Chordie. Capo at the first fret to play along with the original.
Thin Lizzy – Boys Are Back In Town (Tab)
Guitar Riffs + St Patrick’s Day = Inevitable Lizzy
… and a bit of harmony action. This has to be the best bit of harmony guitar work ever (run close by the Hotel California solo). So I’ve kept that and written up two ukulele parts (moved up four frets to fit).
The Barnkickers are a big favourite in the uke community; winning UkeWarehouse’s video contest and receiving nominations for Ukulele Video of the Year and UU’s Undies. The group is father and daughter duo Steve and Amanda – the Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus of the ukulele – and they have just released their first album Up Before Noon.
I got in touch with Barnkicker Steve to discuss familial music making, ukuleles and manatee lettuce.
There aren’t many father/daughter duos out there. What sort of dynamic is there between you?
I think we have a pretty typical father daughter relationship. We are very close, but of course there are times we don’t agree and that can extend to our musical endeavors at times. We do have a lot of interests in common and we share a similar dry sense of humor. Amanda and I don’t really get to spend as much time together as we’d like and we both have pretty busy lives these days. She has her act together to a much greater degree than I did when I was her age, that’s for sure!
Is one of you in charge?
Is any father really “in charge” of their seventeen year old daughter? Joking aside, it’s hard to stop being “Dad” and become just a collaborator, but luckily we have similar ideas and tastes when it comes to music. I’m more or less “in charge” during the recording process, but things like arranging songs and making videos are more of a joint effort. When recording Amanda’s songs, I try to get ideas from her and compliment her performance when I add the other instruments.
How is it different from playing with non-family members?
There is a comfort level between us that makes it very easy to work together. We can voice our opinions or doubts without worrying about what the other person thinks. We also take a great deal of pride in one another’s talent. There is something special about family members performing music together and I’m glad I have the opportunity to do so.
What differences are there between yours and Amanda’s songs?
My songs often sound like they were written a generation ago. I enjoy writing new songs that sound like old standards and I’m always looking for a catchy hook or a clever lyric. Amanda’s influences are more contemporary and there is often a touch of angst in her lyrics which are much more enigmatic than mine. You could say my influences start at The Beatles and work backward while her start at the same point and go forward.
Do you ever write songs together?
Not really, although we bounce ideas off of each other and offer suggestions. The four songs of Amanda’s that you hear on the CD are entirely her compositions. I basically just added the guitar and bass parts.
The combination of ukulele and double bass works incredibly well. Why do you think that is?
Since they are both plucked string instruments the sound blends together nicely, yet because of the different ranges they never get in each others way. It’s sort of like the left and right hands of a piano. There is actually a third ingredient in there too: all of our songs include acoustic guitar which sits right in between the uke and the bass. Those three instruments from the basis of our arrangements with snare drum and solo instruments added later.
‘Father Knows Best’. A trace of sarcasm there, no?
Yes, but good-natured sarcasm. That’s one the few songs I’ve written that is based on true experiences. When Amanda knows she’s right about something it can be hard to convince her otherwise and that song references some of the silly disagreements we’ve had over the years. The chorus is inspired by the time we went canoeing and she ate a piece of floating vegetation to prove to me that it was a type of lettuce that the manatees ate. She wound up drinking all of our water and eating all of the food we brought to soothe her burning throat, all to prove her father wrong.
What’s your pre-Barnkickers musical history?
I attended Berklee College of Music and I earned my living as a professional bassist for many years. I still gig regularly on both acoustic and electric bass and I suspect a few eyebrows were raised when I started showing up around town with a ukulele, but I’m hooked on them! Amanda started playing clarinet in middle school and more recently started playing guitar and ukulele. She has been singing all her life and The Barnkickers is really an extension of the musical home videos we used to make together when she was a little girl.
What’s in your ukulele collection?
On the Barnkickers CD I used my Ohana CK-50G which was my first nice ukulele and I recently acquired a vintage Martin 1-T tenor uke that’s in mint condition. I also have a vintage Kay soprano, a Hilo soprano, a concert Flea, an Ohana CK-70RB and a vintage Harmony baritone. Amanda has a Bushman Jenny Concert uke which she used to record her songs on the CD and she also has an Kala electric/acoustic tenor that we won in the Uke Warehouse video contest. In general Amanda and I prefer concert and tenor sized ukuleles and we keep them tuned GCEA with a high G. I’m pretty sure my next uke will be a banjolele.
What are your plans for the rest of this year?
Although we have a CD release party scheduled later this month, I’m afraid there won’t be too many live performances from The Barnkickers this year. Amanda will graduate from high school in May and she has been accepted into the music program at the college she was hoping to attend. She will also be joining the army reserve band and completing her basic training over the summer. We’re both still writing music and we will be contributing a new original song to a compilation CD I am currently producing as a fundraising project for a not-for-profit organization. It’s going to feature a great selection of uke-based artists and I think it will be a big hit in the ukulele community. I also have plans to promote The Barnkickers CD as well, so between these two projects you should be hearing more from The Barnkickers throughout the year.
Up Before Noon is out now. You can buy the downloads on DigStation and the CD on CD Baby
Breakin’ the law, breakin’ the law, neyooow, breakin’ the law, breakin’ the law.
There are rumours flying around about me planting subliminal messages in mp3s telling people to set fire to guitars. These rumours are a half truth.
I assume everyone is subscribed to Bosko and Honey and has already seen the incredible Kamatetsu. If not, go there right now.
With that done, check out this week’s videos including some cheerup music, some throat singing, a tribute to ukulele girls and – this week’s Boing Boing contender -a song about cannibalism.
A rather gruesome piece of ukulele history up for sale this week: the Beltona ukulele Tiny Tim was playing when he had a heart attack. Complete with the dents that were made at time.
About a month late, but here’s a heart-shaped Valentine ukulele.
Keith Ogata gets more metal with each ukulele.
The new electric Oscar Schmidts obviously owe their design to Gibson guitars. The really interesting part is the sales copy: “Face it — there are thousands of smart, good looking guys just like you that will be at Spring Break. You need to be different to stand out. Since it now costs $75.00 to check a guitar on an airplane a uke might be the next best thing.”
Last week there was some discussion over the accuracy and legality of the new Clearwater ‘Eleukes’. Clearwater are an official Eleuke OEM: so they are redesigned and rebranded Eleukes.
Three videos that had me clutching my sides with laughter: Hilary Clinton and John McCain do the Ukulele Forum Rap, Ukulele en Francais and Unicorn Fantasy (that last one is NSFW and via Zym).
The Guardian Music Blog discusses the ukulele resurgence with Dent May, Jens Lekman (who seems to be a titanic knobhead) and the world’s handsomest ukulele blogger. If you’re at all interested in what I said in the rest of the interview, you can read it here.
The Ukulele Movement comes to Singapore.
Win an Ohana by designing the logo for the Wine Country Uke Fest.
Getting Serious… about Ukulele: “The thing is — with a very few exceptions — for my money there isn’t that much creativity around in the world of uke design.”
Come Sail Away by Styx on Uker Tabs.
Ukulele Chord Tool for Palm OS.
WIUO rock the hat and goatee look (and, gosh, doesn’t Megan have hairy shoulders).
The Ukulele Bible: “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Ukulele shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not Ukulele, and that obey not the gospel of our Ukulele. Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Ukulele, and from the glory of his power.” (Thessalonians 1:7-9)
It wouldn’t be a series of guitar riffs for ukulele without AC/DC. To give this one plenty of rock, do all down strums and dampen the open string strums. You play these dampened strums by resting the underside of your strumming hand just in front of the bridge, so when you strum it sounds muted. This is a little different from chnks since you keep your hand on the strings the whole way through.
I am completely in love with my iPod Touch. Not in that way. It’s not like I make out with or anything (and everyone who tells you they’ve seen me making out with it is lying because I always make sure the curtains are shut first). It’s a deep, caring, understanding love that will never die (until something better comes along – just like with person love). So, of course, I availed myself of the various ukulele related apps available and here are my findings (the prices are those in the UK, but I expect the US ones are comparable).
UkeChords
What it does: Shows you how to play chords. It’s similar to Sheep Entertainment. You select a pitch and a chord type and it has shows you how to play the chord on a fretboard.
Good Stuff: Simple, attractive, easy to use layout. Comprehensive. Shows three chord inversions for each chord. Indicates the interval (root, 3rd, 5th etc.) for each note. Lets you hear the chord.
Not So Good Stuff: If you try to select a chord with more than four notes it craps out on you. Granted you’d have to drop a note, but it would be useful to be shown suitable options. C tuning only. Vertical display only.
Price: £1.19
Overall: Excellent app. The best one I’ve tried for the uke.
Scale Buddy
What it does: Show scales for the ukulele and many other instruments. You select the key and the scale and it displays all the notes in that scale on a plain text style fretboard (with the root notes in green).
Good Stuff: Good selection of scales – 16 in all from essentials like minor, major, pentatonic and blues to more unusual scale such as super locrian and kumoi. Includes C tuning and baritone.
Not So Good Stuff: Fairly nasty to look at. Can’t hear the scales being played. In the vertical display the fretboard is cut in half – so best to use it horizontally. Goes with ‘ukelele’.
Price: £1.19
Overall: It’s a handy reference but there are a lot of improvements that could be made. Worth the money.
PocketGuitar
What it does: Virtual ukulele (and guitar). You can watch Gio Gaynor rocking out with his here.
Good Stuff: Fun to have a mess around with – particularly dialing up the reverb and distortion.
Not So Good Stuff: It takes a lot of practice to get the hang of it – more than I’m willing to put in.
Price: £0.59
Overall:
Lelele no Onsan
What it does: Plays notes for you to tune to.
Good Stuff: Simple. Free. Low and high G tunings.
Not So Good Stuff: The notes don’t sustain for very long. It would be much easier to use if you could just switch the tones on and off.
Price: Free
Overall: It’s free. Why not?
Guitar Rock Tour
What it does: Guitar Hero/Rock Band game. Blobs come rolling down the screen and you have to touch them at the right time to play the music. Not strictly a ukulele app, but it has four strings, so I’m claiming it.
Good Stuff: Top game and very addictive. May yet rescue the guitar solo from oblivion.
Not So Good Stuff: “Ouch, my thumbs”. Liable to lead to rockstar tantrums. P!nk and Avril. Loading… Loading… Loading…
Price: £3.49
Overall: I’ve wasted far too much time on this game. Don’t buy it if you’ve got things you need to do (except buy it anyway).
There are also some tuning apps, but I haven’t tried them out as I don’t have a mic for it. So if anyone has, let us know your opinion in the comments.
